MYANMAR/BURMA

Mr Azahar showed us an interesting PowerPoint during one of our RSP lessons. It was about Myanmar/Burma. and through it, I have learnt a lot!

Some Information:

RELIGION

From the PowerPoint, I can infer that religion plays a very big part in the lives of the Burmese.
The reason for my inference is:

( taken from http://www.sacred-destinations.com/burma/images/yangon-rangoon/schwedagon/bamboo-scaffolding-gold-maintenace-cc-flappingwings.jpg)

1.The main stupa in the Pagoda( a Burmese temple) is completely solid, every inch is covered in gold.
2.The upper parts are studded with diamonds totalling over 2,000 carats.
3.At the very top of the spire is the diamond orb - a hollow gold sphere studded with 4351 diamonds totalling 1800 carats. On the very tip rests a single, 76-carat diamond.
Since the people were willing to spend so much money to build their place of worship, they must really take their religion as a big part of their lives.

( taken from http://www.sacred-destinations.com/burma/images/yangon-rangoon/schwedagon/shwedagon-pagoda-from-hotel-roof-c-awfulsara.jpg)

Sometimes, even during a blackout, where all the buildings are cut off of their electricity, the Pagoda is the only building that still has the electricity supply, and the only building in the city that is shining brightly.

PEOPLE

There was a part of the PowerPoint, in which there was a quote, The quote was something like this:

“For centuries the Burmese have been famous for their gentile, soft-spoken manner. Indeed, they talk at a rather low volume and use very polite speech in whatever language they are speaking.”

From this, we can infer that The Burmese are probably gentle, and courteous people, who can probably come across as sweet-natured and polite people.

MALAYSIA

KUDA KEPANG

Mr Azahar showed us a video on the Kuda Kepang that day.

In the first part of the video, there was a group of female dancers who carried little horses(like the one seen above). The tempo of the drums were relatively slow, and to me it was just another Malay dance.

However, in the later part of the video, there was a group of male dancers with the same type of horse, and the dance looked rather similar to the female one. However,the males were made to breathe in some smoke, and the tempo of the drums quickened. Apparently, they were being possessed by spirits. The males started going a little "crazy" and "galloped" around the whole area. There was a male, whom I thought was the leader, and he started whipping the male dancers. The whipping sound was very loud, so it was probably very painful. I was wondering why the males didn't seem to be in agony. The people around there didn't display any shock at all, which made me even more bewildered. After awhile, there were fed glass pieces, and made to step in glass pieces. My friends all gasped with horror-I could tell that they were as shocked as I was. The males ran and shook their heads, and they didn't seem to be in pain at all. Mr Azahar said that they were probably in a trance. Eventually, some of the guys broke out from the trance(I think) as they laid on the ground, probably because the "spirit" had escaped from their bodies. I was really shocked.

HOW COULD THE AUDIENCE BEAR TO LOOK?

HOW COULD THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE OF THE PERFORMANCE TREAT THE GUYS LIKE THAT?

WHERE THE MALES WILLING TO GET POSSESSED?

WAS IT A WAY FOR THEM TO ACHIEVE A "GREATER SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP" WITH THEIR GODS?

The video really left me confused, and the questions kept popping out in my mind. Therefore, I decided to do a search on it.

Basically, Kuda Kepang is a dance performed by Malaysians, mainly of Javanese descent. It is a legless horse-shaped puppet that is straddled by the performers.

Source: Wikipedia

Hmmm, so it didn't really answer my question): However, I think that...

The males were really in a trance and thus didn't feel any pain. They probably wanted a personal encounter with their gods, and agreed to do it. Even though we might think that the people in charge of their performance seem evil, but to them and the people who believe in this practice, they were probably respected. In my opinion, these people were to them, what priests were to Catholics, and monks to Buddhist. After all, to be able to be in charge of such a spiritual practice,they must have to have some social standing in society, for people to trust them to carry out the ritual properly.

You might probably disagree with what I've said, or don't even understand what I'm saying at all, but this is just my opinion of things(:

Although the practice of Kuda Kepang might seem ridiculous to us, I believe that there is a reason behind it, a reason that we do not know. At first, I thought that this practice was absolutely ridiculous, but after much thought, I have concluded that even though our cultures might seem different, we should accept each other's cultures!

Video on Kuda Kepang. ENJOY!

SINAGPORE

(taken from http://www.mymalaysiabooks.com/images/Flag_Spore.jpg)

Not forgetting sunny Singapore! The capital of Singapore is Singapore! Singapore's closest neighbour is Malaysia. Singapore used to be a Malay fishing village, but due to the large migration of Chinese, the main race in Singapore now is Chinese. Singapore used to be part of Malaysia, but she gained her independance in 1965. On 9th August every year, Singaporeans celebrate Singapore's national day. Singapore used to be a British colony. Sinagpore is a Multi-racial society, and the 4 main races in Singapore are Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian.

(taken from http://itclub.vs.moe.edu.sg/cyberfair2005/images/esplanade.jpg)

One of the most famous tourist attraction in Singapore has to be the Esplanade (Singapore's performing arts venue), which is shaped like a durian. isn't it cute?:D

LAOS

(taken from http://www.faqs.org/docs/factbook/flags/la-lgflag.gif)

The capital of Laos is Vientiane, which is also the largest city. Its official language is Lao. It is bordered by Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Laos traces its history to the Kingdom of Lan Xang or Land of a Million Elephants, which existed from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century(Some information from Wikipedia)

EAST TIMOR

(taken from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Flag_of_East_Timor.svg/800px-Flag_of_East_Timor.svg.png)

The capital of East Timor is Dili, which is also the largest city. Its official languages are Portugese(as it was colonized by the Portugese before) and Tetum. The country is rather small, and it is located above Australia. 97% of the population are Roman Catholics.

MYANMAR/ BURMA

(taken from http://www.britannica.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/myanmar-flag.gif)

Myanmar's/ Burma's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon. The national language is Burmese. Myanmar/ Burma is the largest country in SEA geographically. The main religion in Myanmar/Burma is Buddhism

A Burmese traditions:
It is an insult to touch someone on the head as the head is considered the "crown".

Some Buddhist celebrations that are celebrated in Singapore include:-
1. Water Festival (Thin Gyan)
-This Myanmar New Year celebration normally falls around 13-17 April every year. During this festival, people devote themselves to offer and bath Buddha images with scented water. They pay homage to the elders with cool water and other offerings. Splashing water at passers-by may be interpreted as symbolizing the washing away of the immoral stains accumulated during the past year,

2. Vesak Day
-This festival occurs on the full moon of May.

Buddhism was actually split into two different vehicles-the smaller vehicle and greater vehicle. The greater vehicle believed in helping devotees to achieve enlightenment, however the smaller vehicle does not do that.

PHILIPPINES

(taken from http://members.shaw.ca/gthemidwife/images/800px-Flag_of_the_Philippines.svg)

The capital city of The Philippines is Manila, and The Philippines comprises of many islands, just like Indonesia, except that The Philippines has more islands. The Philippines is a multi-ethnic country.The national language is Tagalog.